


A Darker Shade Of Black

by SirenLorelei



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Background Relationships, Behind the Scenes, Canon - Anime, Canon Compliant, Cliffhangers, Dysfunctional Family, Eventual Romance, F/M, Implied Relationships, Major Original Character(s), Moral Dilemmas, Psychological Drama, Psychological Trauma, Revelations, Secrets, Story within a Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-08-22 13:27:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16598792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirenLorelei/pseuds/SirenLorelei
Summary: ... Searching Registry for ******... ... File Corrupted... Scanning for fragments... De-fragmenting... ... ...Shimizu Hitomi. Age 28. Daughter of lead programmer Shimizu Jinsuke, and Head of Development and Technology at NONA tower, employed under Sibyl Systems. Responsible for Cassandra, Dominator advancement and bio-cybernetics.Association of Note. Mother                     - Shimizu Jinsuke.         Status: DeceasedFather                      - ******* ******.             Status: Alive (****)Inspector (*********) - Kusabana Hideyoshi.  Status: AliveInspector                  - ****** *********.         Status: AliveChief of MWPSB        - Kasei Joshu.                Status: ******02:23:12         Date: 2113.02.16





	1. Chapter 1

               

.o'0'o.

“People who claim that they're evil are usually no worse than the rest of us... It's people who claim that they're good, or any way better than the rest of us, that you have to be wary of.”- Gregory Maguire.

 

                Far from the prying eyes of the city below, it's noise and scent muted by thick forest, a modern house rested in a recovered grove, hidden from the main road. It was plain, white against the vivid green and earthen brown, a season of color that failed to thrive in the metropolis of iron and cement clad in holograms. A chime of an alarm began, low at first, hardly audible in the silence until it grew and was hushed by a hand covering the dim luminescent digits. It hovered for a moment before slinking back under the bed sheets, eyes that lay open wide and aware for hours prior to the sound.

Within the unadorned rectangle painted in pristine white, little furniture lay to break up the pale grey interior. This was all well and fair as the house often went unused. In fact, at it's very best, it was used a week out any given month and it entertained no visitors. Unlike homes built within city-limits it shared a power grid, but it contained no holographic design nor computerized notions beyond security. It was how it's owner demanded it when dealing with the contractors and she had overseen every aspect of the build.

Standing from the bed, dressed in a deep green night shirt that ran to her knees, the homeowner slipped her wrist band over her hand and punched a few buttons to enable the weather report behind her morning scan. The hologram lit up the darkness, painting her figure in teal illumination from head to foot.

 _"Shimizu Hitomi. Age 28. Crime Coefficient… 48. Hue… Green-Blue-"_ The same hand to silence the clock hushed the voice that filled the room and her head, waking her fully to the forward march of time.

"Coffee first." Not rushed in any way despite a busy day she would have preferred to spend on her own work, Hitomi suffered from a case of 'popularity'. She was not a favorite of most people by way of personality, she was polite, but reserved and blunt; some would call her tactless. This worked in her favor however, stopped seldom for conversation she was one whom devoted all her focus on her work.

Staring into the white cup after pouring her drink, black coffee steamed into her face, the caress against her cheek making no change in expression; her mind was already at work behind her desk. Three meetings before the morning even ended and if those went accordingly, she might escape to her own departments and do something worthwhile beyond paper pushing… a second alarm began to chime, this time from her wrist and turning it off, Hitomi drained the coffee, filled the cup with water and returned to her bedroom. Therein, she retired the green shirt and exchanged it for formal business attire, two of her meetings regarding the Minister of Finance and Chief of the MWPSB, Kasei Joshu respectively. The latter she could have infinitely preferred passing by, but it unfortunately mandated that the someone from the Development and Technologies at NONA tower attended and more particularly, her personally.

Fixing the tie, blue, Shimizu Hitomi rethreaded the earrings she liked best and wore often then left the bed unmade, the dishes unclean as a electronic signal shone green over the outside door. The handle popped open with a soft hiss, her assistant waiting beyond, armed and ready to escort her to NONA, a creature of punctuality of the most severe kind.

"Morning, Shimizu-san." She did not greet him in return, long since grown accustomed to his presence, employed by her and for her nearly a decade now. "How is your scan?" He walked her to the car, the driver's seat she claimed so he could review for himself her morning scan as she took the wheel and turned the ignition. "I could have guessed." He smiled, a neutral expression she could never gauge to be in her best interest or against, his attention drawn to his own wrist for the traffic review.

Kusabana Hideyoshi was one year younger than her own father and so, Hitomi felt a strange kinship with him despite being her shadow everyday for 8 years; 9 in just three months. As for her mother, she was dead longer than that, a ghost whispering empty words without memories to warm them. He was the closest thing to family and she did not consider him as such, his dark hair streaked with silver and swept back, style locked in since she'd hired him. Hideyoshi was gentle for a man with his job and he did not abuse his position over others; it was the reason she selected him among other Detectives. Not because he was kind, but because he understood without the slew of emotional fallout that followed hunting people with a Dominator governed by Sibyl.

 

                The hour long drive into the city went as it often did, little traffic so to speak so early in the morning, the sun only now brightening the sky as NONA tower stood before her, an ominous obelisk for some and a beacon of hope for most. A pair of employees recognized her in passing and she granted them the effort of a greeting only waking a few hours ago could afford. Within the hour that genial mood would fade… Looking down at her wrist however, Hitomi sighed. On any other day she might push a call from Kasei till later, but this was not such an occasion.

"Shimizu Hitomi, I hope your leave was recuperative." Rather than make eye contact with Joshu directly, Hitomi turned a blank stare to the lens from which Sibyl observed all of Japan from, scanners no longer viewed as a prying eye or violation to the populace. "Your meetings this morning are to be pushed back. The issue of Cassandra demands you debrief me at the earliest convenience… events have strained the time restrictions previously allotted. I expect to see you shortly, Shimizu-san." Without the chance to speak herself, Hitomi cursed internally as the changes to her schedule already began to populate as notifications, Hideyoshi working even while Kasei still droned on to clear her schedule.

With the light of morning behind her and the stark brilliance of NONA before her, Hitomi could clearly be recognized. Her walnut brown hair rest about her face, dark indigo eyes mirrored the last of her call with Kasei before turning blank, light gone. Inside, a coil of frustration did not disturb the exterior that was the Head of Development and Tech, but the woman herself wanted to turn around and go home out of spite. Naturally, she stood still in the hallway until her mood recovered to continue the morning without further disruption and Hideyoshi waited alongside her, this occurrence natural and benign.

"I'm heading to my office, send copies of my report last night to my personal mail with a hard copy on my desk. Contact Haruma in Acquisition and tell him I need my order on the double otherwise I'm going to miss _that_ deadline as well."

"Yes, Oku-san (ma'am). You haven't eaten… bring that too?" Hideyoshi already had turned down another corridor, but he knew already that the choice was up to him. She did not ask for anything outside of work, but it was his job to see that she was safe and everything went smoothly. In his eye, she was First Violin, a source of melody in an orchestra, and he was Second Violin. He was important, equally so, but his part was lost without the first. He was harmony and supported the First whom without, his role was devoid and without purpose.

.o'0'o.

                Standing in Kasei Joshu's office, Shimizu Hitomi waited while the Chief of the MWPSB sat in recline, seemingly without concern despite the rush placed on their meeting today. The pale grey hair rest cropped short, seemingly the air of an aged and worn woman of strength without any of the signs of wear that came with it. She was immaculate and direct, turning those inhuman eyes to the computer.

"The latest string of disturbances within the city have advanced certain aspects desired from you and Cassandra. What can we expect if we began utilizing what has been put in place?" Hitomi groaned, the sound only slightly externalized.

"The advances made with Cassandra are limited. The final product is not even close to complete and what it can offer if bridged to the Sibyl system would be minuscule unless the perfect case were to arise. For that to compute, think a needle in a needle stack… you've asked me to work on the remainder of human populace that do not fall into the normal category of denizens. You expect too much from a derelict protocol so soon after it's integration into NONA tower. This leads me to ask what has changed so quickly that my work is being supported so 'whole heartedly'?" And there in lie the source of great power. As an individual, her work often was subsidiary and with little support; little hope. The recent year had witness to a change in the line of thought and what had been a boon for one, became a hot subject that only increased with time.

"If you have been following the work of the MWPSB, a rise in crimes affected by some individuals have called into account your realm of work and this particular project." Hitomi showed a rare sign of surprise which Kasei noted. "Of the few 'needles' that you have recorded, this one carries information directly of import to Sibyl and his motives have proven to be- incentive to his capture. This demands the work you have with Cassandra to be implemented if we are to have an increased chance of his acquisition. Do you agree?"

Watching the deep eye of Sibyl's poster child, Hitomi imagined that without her, so many things would simply unravel. Both good and bad. Cassandra- was important to her, a personal connection she had fostered for years and the work accomplished together she desired to be implemented into Sibyl's Systems without fail for the betterment of everyone… not just because on the list of 'needle-like' individuals, she was among them. On the slide of massive scales Sibyl controlled, she was judged apart for her nature and so too the opposite could be said. Only those who exist in the less extremes had a place for consideration- the rest lay in the wastes of ignorance.

"Whom should I have in question so I can tune the algorithm?" She waited, but Kasei had no intention of muttering such a name because it was unnecessary.

"That is classified at present, I'm sure, with knowledge of whom such a list populates, the reason is not beyond you."

"Then suffer for your secrecy. I am looking for a Positive or Negative Value?" Kasei Joshu watched the impatience growing, invisible to normal eyes; but not hers. From Hitomi's wrist a hologram window opened and automatically opened her recent scan made this morning as she'd climbed from bed. It did so without provocation, minion to Kasei's desire like many other things.

_"Shimizu Hitomi. Age 28. Crime Coefficient… 48. Hue… Green-Blue. Adjusted CC… 391. Adjusted Hue… Indigo. AACC… 532 AAH… Green-Yellow. Computing composite…"_

On a window displayed in her personal computer, Kasei reviewed this morning's scans to the current attitude with a smile lacking any warmth.

"A 39 point jump in your ACC since being home. I would think this was motivation enough to engage Cassandra… you are not the only one I need push from time to time however and you are still of considerable value. Our suspected target is of the Negative Value category… Changes made to Division 1's squad may improve based on the new Detective placed recently, but it is unclear yet to what extent. Their files are recently updated as well as Division 3, I expect you will have them reviewed so as to determine what protocol need be adjusted to help the MWPSB and yourself… and be wary of the analysis expert as usual. She often finds those small disturbances left behind and it would be a disappointment to lose her to sloppy craftsmanship."

_"Recommended Actions to amend your ACC and AH are mediation, sleep, calming crafts or hobbies and therapy. Would you like to make an appointment to see a therapist?"_

"Shut up, mother."

"How are operations regarding the 'other' matter I mailed you about yesterday?" Kasei inquired this seemingly small notion, but it was answered only by a chuckle while Hitomi tucked her hands into her pocket. She didn't bother to glare as she turned to leave the office.

"It wasn't my project and I'm not shoveling the feces of a mess I didn't make. You find someone else to do it, though if you're looking for recommendations, I'd pick Suzumu now that my hands are tied." Had she thought it might bother Kasei any, she might have left the door open as she exit the office, but it didn't and so she merely left, riding the elevator to the 23 floor for her own office knowing she didn't have the man power to get what Kasei wanted done, but it was going to get accomplished one way or another. "Of course, the heartless wretch is hunting a specimen from the Negative Value…" Hideyoshi didn't look up from his desk, tucked against the wall though it had just as much a view of the room as her own desk and actually could see out the window that otherwise Hitomi faced away from.

"A Negative Value…" He glanced down at the healthy food he'd considered to realize it was a worse morning than he'd guessed. Such an outcome demanded high carbs as a means to sooth and empower the energy that was going to nearly buzz from his boss's hands once the computer came on.

"Gin, please… I'm going nowhere it seems today. Also confirm our canceled meetings have received the updated information." Hitomi tapped the computer, lights flaring before dimming to a lower setting.

"Gin will make you sin." He stated, an amused passing of genial conversation he accustomed himself to. "And the rest is already done."

"I'm going to need to be hands on with Cassandra today. I'm hoping it'll prove less volatile than last time and then shift the Dept. of Tech to Suzumu for the next two weeks… he'll be so pleased." _So much so that you should be sure to inform him it is not out of any sense of trust or faith in his abilities, but because of the two brains he has, only one of them sees any stimulation._ Hitomi smirked, the improvement to her ACC not correlated to her biting loath of the sexist man, but from the report of Division 1 and their successes as Sibyl's fingers. They in particular functioned in a manner odd to correlate with values and numbers. The dynamic that affected them fueled their ethics and composed an oddly strengthened force against latent criminals versus destroying that tenuous unity.

Pausing over the written account of the latest addition to Division 1, Hitomi smirked at the irony that seemed so apparent in her mind's eye, but when the smirk faltered, Hideyoshi watched on with surface placidity. Laughing, a rare among the rare reactions to witness, she pressed two fingers against her lips, failing to suppress the sound. A gentle shaking of her shoulders marred the composure of the self proclaimed 'daughter of Sibyl'.

_She shot Kogami in the back… with hardly any deviance to her hue or coefficient. Well…_

               

 

 


	2. 2

                An uncharacteristic high had begun the month with energy and progress rare to the Head of Development and Tech. Released from her official duties despite her enjoyment in them, there was a pleasure that came from being able to focus on a single item. Even if it was not among her joys, it did fall into the category of her aptitudes and her mind could decompress, shut off from the thoughts that otherwise ran rampant.

Hidden in the depths of her 'secondary' office, lines of code ran down the length of the computer screen, disconnect from Sibyl. This was not a security issue, but rather a personal demand. She couldn't stand having any person sit over her shoulder to monitor her work and the position she now enjoyed gave her just enough leverage to exact the outcome of her request because in the far corner, pale and glorious, she stood in all her elegance.

Cassandra was tall and beautiful; warmth of a kind Sibyl could not understand or quantify. Within her beat the heart of understanding towards all those who slipped outside the ranges Sibyl Systems deemed worthy, extending beyond the knowledge that a number did not, in fact, impart evil… this Negative Value Cassandra was helping her to hunt proof of that concept of warmth.

_City Wide Parameter Search… Populating Results…_

Waiting for things to roll, Hitomi accessed MWPSB records, coffee fogging up her glasses that she removed, the frames clacking against the hard polymer desktop. Division 1 had been a source of much relief when it came to ideals regarding Sibyl. As a whole, Hitomi had a hereditary inclination to the Sibyl's belief system and her work to see it take off into new realms of success showed that support, but aspects she deemed less than admirable existed like in any job and so seeing those disturbances overcome in such an array as Division 1 was a drug. It concerned her to no small end how many of its Inspector were demoted to Enforcers without much of a support regime in place to stop the slip in the first place, but  she could only do one thing at a time.

Bolstered by the success in the recent report at the Drone Factory, Hitomi smirked. As much as she wished the Sibyl System to function properly, there was a deep seated joy at watching it fail and for more than one reason. Chinks in the armor Kasei Joshu wore, her omnipotence challenged was one such reason. To take that insufferable woman down a peg was almost worth having the system only be half completed… others boiled down to 'mommy' issues that every day she was reminded of.

_"Instigating an aggressive response"…Ah, Kogami-san…I think you delight me as much as Kagari-kun. Such an old method of thought and sequence of action to get what you desire… I suppose it makes sense. Violence is an act of the old world Sibyl seeks to smother and suppress, so you need old dogs who know those tricks-_

_Results for "City Wide Parameter" Search Complete!_

_List of (59) Values._

_… (5) total "Negative Values" acquired._

_… (1) total "active" last within range parameter_

_Commence protocol "Cassandra"? Y/N_

Hitomi hovered over the screen, watching the light blink like an eye awaiting her orders. She hit 'Y' and the screen blinked out to black for a moment before a hum ran the length of the corridor on the 5th subterranean level. When it came back up a final permission's request registered.

_Connect Prophet to Sibyl System as is? Some operations may not be fully functional or operate at all under the current settings. Continue? Y?N_

She repeated her last line of code and Cassandra came to life, breathing full the air of Sibyl's future. The major issue this far with the Cassandra Protocol was this. As a whole, this sub system created to be added to Sibyl would bring into consideration 'Will'. To date, men and women across the nation were marked, branded, and imprisoned without intent being taken into the equation, the algorithm effectively channeling crime into such low numbers ignored a small range of humankind that existed apart from nature… no system could be perfect 100% when governed by man. As such from the extremes, two people came into question and were the markers which Cassandra searched for.

  1. A) Any individual who registers at any time a 0 CC: A Negative Value
  2. B) Any Individual who registers at any time above 300: A Positive Value
  3. C) Those of the Negative Value (0) need have a clean Hue* for becoming a candidate
  4. D) Those of the Positive Value (300+) need have a clouded Hue* for becoming a candidate



*In the case of a Negative Value, all individuals must have Sibyl supported (Malignant) evidence for consideration and processing into Tokorozawa Corrections or for dispatch by Dominator.

** In the case of a Positive Value, all individuals must have Sibyl supported (benign) evidence for consideration and processing into Tokorozawa Corrections with the intent of release into society.

It was one thing to scan each person in a country as they came and went on the scale that Sibyl demanded and functioned, but Cassandra was a blanket that covered the country in a moment, a simultaneous scan and information dump that read everyone, at once and marked their locations in time... trying to target a moving individual pushed the limits currently available despite the unprecedented power supply and yet to be under stood which meant only Sibyl could be to rolled out Nation-wide in the first place. As Kasei made clear, it was not under the realms of Development and Tech, though how that was possible was unclear. Hitomi knew one thing, Kasei was an infuriating Cyber-tronic existence whose brain she hated. Whoever she'd made the body for did well to keep the old identity hidden, but it was part and parcel to allowing her continued work with Cassandra so what did it matter her boss was a tyrant? Whose wasn't?

_Search Complete! ..._

_0 Negative Values found! Subject may have moved outside range since last scan or Sibyl Systems is currently operating as primary in region of Negative Value._

"Piece of-"

"Oku-san?" The security door between her and BF4 spoke with a distorted voice, Hideyoshi waiting for admittance like he had sensed her mood in advance. She pushed the button to allow him in and he carried a bottle of Gin, unfinished from the day before and his own stack of work. "She ran hot last time and fried the repeaters in the aft portion, right?" He set the bottle of Gin down and eyed the two computer screens. "How did they not see that coming?" She peered back at the computer report of the MWPSB incident at the drone plant.

"They don't see the way you do. You are a generation that was raised to think, investigate and not see the face value of everything placed before you... you understand that ignored abuses can lead to the ruination of some-one just like you recognize that it doesn't guarantee they are going to 'dismember' their co-workers." She squint to find the word she wanted from the screen, replacing her glasses when the light bothered her eyes.

"You give me dangerous credit." He sat down, his body language neutral and voice docile, eyes bent reading his work while his brain thought all manner of things she had no idea of. "You make is sound like I don't act on Sibyl's judgement, by my own." She snorted and finished reading the report for her own sake.

"Your hand is governed by Sibyl, but your feet move based on your own deductions. It is why you hold a Dominator to begin with, else you'd have been born holding one instead of taking hold of it each day as a way for you to do the right thing." And then, because she couldn't help needle his impregnable mind. "... I don't need a gun to help or hinder. Just a computer and Sibyl gave me that too. No difference in my opinion." Hideyoshi smiled, but it was not one of his warmer expressions.

"I don't think we are the same... Divisions are populated by Inspectors and Enforcers, all trusted with a Dominator to some extent. Where is yours?" Hands stilled for a moment then reached out to take the bottle and spin the cap off which rolled off the desk.

"... you either believe in God and the Devil or neither, as both exist as part of the same coin for us. You trust Sibyl explicitly and my work is the other side of that coin. You and I stare out from different sides, but the view is the same as the coin spins about." The cap was the only noise beyond Cassandra and their voices before the cap fell and vanished under a lifted part of computer housing which no doubt other caps rest, covered in dust and equally silent.

"I trust Sibyl. I believe in your work, yes... but in a pocket full of change, you are a few yen short of human." Unable to not find the banter amusing, Hitomi allowed the laughter to bubble up knowing doing so made the Inspector cautious. She was unsure the trigger response in detail, but he'd always been that way.

"No, just your definition of it, but I do see your point." Slugging back a measure of gin, her hands fell back to the keyboard. _You know what I hate about hunting needles, Kasei? You always find a prick..._

                 Hours trickled by, time unmarked by clock nor sun while fingers moved over keys faster than most; Hideyoshi watched sidelong. There were many things he found insufferable about his employer, but one of them was that she had a habit of making a point that argued into the areas of moral ambiguity. He watched his own CC and Hue as a result of interactions with her and one reason he kept such philosophical talk to a minimum, shutting her down behind a disguise of contempt. He feared the reason and sense in her words like they might burrow into his mind and fester.

His morning scan was in better scores than recent days, but that was a result of having actual work to do other than shadow Shimizu to and from this place and that. He even got to go home, but his new edition to the window sill had died, the cactus unable to stand being alone for so long. Life felt like that too some times. You could give  humans everything they needed, but without that human touch- something got lost in translation. One person could do better in someone's care than another though the same things were done; same things offered... that was why he stayed working for this woman. She stood against the very core belief system Sibyl was founded, her existence a cancer that infected and changed the way things initially had worked. He also saw her as a panacea however. Though her very life was a counter balance to the extreme peace bought and weld from within NONA tower, she was not a recorded criminal and she had a history that dictated only that she _should_ be.

_"Scan Complete!_ _Shimizu Hitomi. Age 28. Crime Coefficient… 39. Hue… Cyan. Adjusted CC… 296. Adjusted Hue… Dark Blue. AACC… 530 AAH… Green-Yellow."_

The first time he had pointed a Dominator at her, it was not to test the functional changes made to it for his use. Kasei Joshu explained exactly as did Hitomi that if she ever proved a threat- to shoot her and she'd only given him reason to second guess her once. At the time, he wasn't sure of the expression, but her wide eyes didn't house an ounce of shock at the barrel pointed at her, ready to unmake her in every way. Now, she didn't even look at him, no more questioning of his loyalty as his motive to point his Dominator at her… He wouldn't admit to anyone, not even himself, that it would scar him if he needed to fire a shot at her. He wasn't in love with her, half the time he had to convince himself he even liked her, but the expression he'd witnessed that first time ripped a window he hadn't been able to close.

_The cold hum of the Dominator rang with a hollow echo that bounded off the office walls. Shimizu Hitomi stood with her fist against the window, fingers pressed so tightly into her hand the blood darkened the shadow within before seeping out like evil in physical form._

_Mistaking the furious smashing of her computer for a mental break, his gun was pointed at her faster than he'd thought possible, startled by the sound as he'd entered the room. She smashed her fist into the window which vibrated- then a second time- a third._

_"Enforcement mode: Lethal Eliminator. Please aim carefully and eliminate the target."_

_He took a breath and that was long enough for him to see what she saw when peering at the future of Sibyl. That single breath to steady his hand had been marred when her body dropped to the floor, blood streaking the window. A sob shook the length of her, shoulders bent forward, not even caring if she'd heard the Dominator- Sibyl- judge her._

_"Enforcement mode: Non-lethal Paralyzer. Please aim calmly and subdue the target."_

_His eyes scanned the gun impossibly, the emotional strength of his target to become non-lethal a feat he imagined to be a glitch in a computer program some place. It dropped in chunks with each exhale as if the rage, the latent criminal within could be bled out._

_"Enforcement mode; Target is not a threat. The trigger will be locked"_

_He didn't reach for her, Dominator pointed at her as the Criminal Coefficient leveled out completely. Hitomi stare as the blood dripped off her fingers, palm open like she had caught some invisible thing._

**_"My father is dead. Why won't you help me?"_** _Hitomi asked this of him, but he knew she did not ask for his help to stand or even a shoulder to cry. She wanted release from a pain that he understood at heart, yet the map of her heart was in a different language that he didn't know. What she asked of him was to take the pain away, any way he knew how, knowing death was an option amid that list even though she feared it. Those last minutes before she reclaimed herself didn't etch, but branded a consideration that went against everything._

**_Willpower could be stronger than desire._ **

**_A Criminal Coefficient could be ignored- and defeated…_ **

 

 


End file.
